Bibliography for seminar: "Science and Pseudoscience"

Compiled by Donald Simanek

Use your browser's `search' or `find' tools to look for key words.

Ligatures are shown as two characters.
Where I know that a book is in the LHU or PSU library, I have given
its call number in curly brackets. Listing here implies no
endorsement of quality or reliability, though I include brief
comments to give the reader a clue to the contents and purpose of
some of these books. These comments contain my usual biases.

Aaseng, Nathan. Science Versus Pseudoscience. Franklin Watts,
1994.

Alleau, René. History of Occult Sciences. (Series: The New
Illustrated History of Science and Invention.) Leisure Arts Limited
Publishers, London. No date appears, but probably 1960s.

Balsiger, Dave and Charles E. Sellier, Jr. In Search of Noah's
Ark. Sun Classic Books, 1976. This is the paperback of the movie
by Sun Classic Pictures, a company notorious for semi-slick movies
aimed at credulous and gullible audiences.

Barclay, David and Therese Marie Barclay, eds. UFOs, The Final
Answer? Blandford, 1993. Cover: "UFOlogy for the 21st Century."
This is a collection of serious essays spanning a wide spectrum of
interpretations of the UFO `phenomenon'.

Bardens, Dennis Mysterious Worlds. Cowles, 1970. A personal
investigation of the weird, the uncanny, and the unexplained.

Bell, Robert. Impure Science. Wiley 1992. {Q175.37.B45 1992
LHU}

ben Abraham, Kent Robertson. New Gravity. Bozo Faust, 1975. It's
hard to tell whether this is vintage kookery, or a parody of
kookery. Is it the product of a mind warped by too many physics
lectures? Was the author miffed because the Gravity Research
Foundation didn't grant him its annual prize? Was he `high' on
something when he wrote this? The title page claims: Gravity is the
4th dimension, electricity is the 5th dimension, and magnetism is
the 6th dimension.

Benavides, Rodolfo. Dramatic Prophecies of the Great Pyramid.
Editores Mexicanos Unidos. S. A., 1961. Pyramidology is alive and
well in Mexico and Central and South America.

Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle. Doubleday, 1974. This
best-seller made the Bermuda Triangle a household word. See Kusche,
Lawrence for the antidote to this nonsense.

Brandon, Ruth. The Spiritualists. Knopf, 1983. From the cover:
The passion for the occult in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries.

Broad, William & Nicholas Wade. Betrayers of the Truth; Fraud and
Deceit in the Halls of Science. Touchstone, 1982.

Brown, Rosemary. Unfinished Symphonies, Voices from the Beyond.
Morrow, 1971. From the dust jacket: "Rosemary Brown...explains how
she communicates with the great composers of the past: Liszt,
Chopin, Mozart, Bach and others, and is given their new
compositions. There is also an LP recording of these spirited
compositions.

Burkhardt, Titus. Alchemy, science of the cosmos, science of the
soul. Published in German as Alchemie in 1960. English
translation published by Vincent Stuart and John M. Watkins, Ltd.,
1967.

Burlingame, Roger. Scientists Behind the Inventors. Avon, 1960

Caldwell, Taylor, with Jess Stearn. The Romance of Atlantis. c.
1975 by Taylor Caldwell and Jess Stearn. Fawcett, 1976. A novel
based on the Atlantis myth.

Carroll, David. The Magic Makers,
Magic and Sorcery Through the Ages. Arbor House, c. 1974 by David
Carroll. Signet, 1975.

Cavendish, Richard. A History of Magic. c. Richard Cavendish,
1987. The history of magic and Western civilization.

Charroux, Robert. Forgotten Worlds, Editions Robert Laffont,
1971. English translation copyright 1973 by Walker and Company.
From the dust jacket: "Scientific secrets of the ancients and their
warning for our time." Sufficient warning.

Christopher, Milbourne. Search for the Soul. Crowell, 1979. The
third, and probably last, of Christopher's series on allegedly
occult phenomena.

Cohen, Daniel. Superstition, a creative understanding book.
Creative Education Press, 1971. Daniel Cohen is a prolific author
on the occult and strange, most of his output (like this one) is
aimed at younger readers. Cohen does his homework and source
research, and is an excellent writer. Most of his books avoid
taking a stand for or against fringe explanations of strange
phenomena, but he does, at least, give a fair hearing to the
skeptical point of view. My personal feeling is that he's reluctant
to take a thoroughly skeptical and debunking stance, knowing it
would jeopardize sales of his books.

Condon, Edward U. Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying
Objects. Report commissioned by the U. S. Air Force. Introduction
by Walter Sullivan. Bantam Books, 1969. This book is much-maligned
in the community of UFO believers as a monumental-scale government
cover-up. Such a fate awaits any government study, no matter how
well done, be it of the Kennedy assassination, or the famous
pornography study of the Nixon era. {TL789.U56}

Evans, Hilary. Intrusions, Society and the Paranormal. Routledge
& Kegan Paul, 1982. Mostly about the history of spiritualism.

Fair, Charles. The New Nonsense, the end of the rational
consensus. Simon and Schuster, 1974. Fair, author of From the
Jaws of Victory, discusses UFOs, ESP, psi phenomena, Velikovsky
and other current mania, and ponders what it means. What
connection, if any, does this have with the revolutionary spirit
of our age. Fair's book wasn't well promoted by his
publisher and is hard to find. Fortunately I have a copy
(autographed). Charles has an interesting career, having been an
editor, computer- company executive, scriptwriter/narrator, and
medical researcher. In 1963 he was a Guggenheim Fellow to UCLA's
brain research institute, and then became a Resident Scientist with
MIT's Neurosciences Research Program, one of the few to have held
appointment there without a degree. His light verse has been
published in The New Yorker.

Fairley, John & Simon Welfare. Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange
Powers. Collins, 1984. Based on Arthur C. Clarke's television
series of the same name.

Fakhry, Ahmed. The Pyramids. The University of Chicago Press,
1961. {DT63.F3}

Festinger, Leon, Henry W. Reicken, Stanley Schacter. When Prophecy
Fails. c. 1956, University of Minnesota. Harper, 1964. A study of
a small group of people who believe they have been forewarned of
the impending end of the world, using the participant-observer
method (researchers infiltrated the group). This deserves to be a
classic in the psychology/sociology of a cult of believers.
{BF1809.F4}

Fiske, John. A Century of Science. Houghton, Mifflin and Co.,
1899. The last chapter, XIV, titled "Some Cranks and their
Crochets" is a classic look at kooks and pseudoscientific ideas.

Forrest, Bob. Velikovsky's Sources. Six parts, plus a notes
and index volume, mimeographed. Bob Forrest, 1981. Scientists were
quick to point out that Velikovsky's scientific understanding was
wrong, but assumed he'd gotten the historical facts right (since
Velikovsky claimed credentials as an historian). Bob Forrest took
a critical look at all of Velikovsky's cited historical sources,
and other related historical information, and showed that in every
case Velikovsky's use of the sources was misrepresented,
misunderstood, or irrelevant.

Fort, Charles. The Book of the Damned. Boni and Liveright,
1919.

Fort, Charles. New Lands. Boni and Liveright, 1923.

Fort, Charles. Lo! Claude Kendall, 1931.

Fort, Charles. Wild Talents. Charles Fort, 1932.

Franco, Barbara. The Cardiff Giant, a Hundred Year Old Hoax. The
new York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York. 1969.
(Reprinted from New York History, October 1969, p. 420-440.

Gauguelin, Michel. Cosmic Influences on Human Behavior, the
planetary factors in personality. ASI Publishers, 1973. This is
the book which stirred a revival of interest in astrology, even
though its conclusion was clearly that traditional astrology was
bunk, yet there still might be some small cosmic influences on
humans (The `Mars effect')

Gornick, Vivian. Women in Science, 100 Journeys Into The
Territory. Touchstone 1983, 1990. From the cover: "Women
Scientists in all their variety and in the prime of life, fiercely
forging connections between their work, their gender, feminism, and
the future."

Gould, Rupert T. Oddities, A Book of Unexplained Facts.
University Books, 1965. Bell reprint. Gould is a rarity: a highly
literate chronicler of mysteries and oddities. In this volume he
tells the stories of the Devonshire Devil, the moving coffins in
the vault at Barbados, Orffyreus' wheel, Mersenne's numbers, the
planet Vulcan, the ships seen on the ice, the Berbalangs of Cagayan
Sulu, the Auroras, Crosse's Acari, the Wizard of Mauritius, the
prophecies of Nostradamus.

Gould, Rupert T. Enigmas, Another Book of Unexplained Facts.
University Books, 1965. Includes the landfall of Columbus, the
Barisal guns, the cry of Memnon, last of the alchemists, the
longevity of Old Parr, canals of Mars, Parry's cannon, case of
Abraham Thornton, the tragedy of H.M.S. Victoria, bealing bells,
giants of Patagonia.

Gould, Rupert T. More Oddities and Enigmas. University Books,
1973. The Indian rope trick, the devil's hoofmarks, the Mary
Celeste Mystery, the canals of Mars, the Siberian Meteorite, seven
famous hoaxes, sea serpents, the man in the iron mask, and others.

Gribbin, John R. and Stephen H. Plagemann. The Jupiter Effect
Reconsidered. In 1974 these two authors published The Jupiter
Effect, predicting widespread seismic activity on earth, and
violent earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault during a period of
solar activity to happen in 1982, triggered by effects of planetary
alignment including the planet Jupiter. It didn't happen, and in
this re-issue, they try to rationalize why.

Griffin, William, Ed. Endtime, The Doomsday Catalog. Macmillan,
1979. What writers and illustrators say about living and dying.
Everything you wanted to know about death, dying, heaven, hell,
and the afterlife, presented with scholarly erudition and a sense
of humor.

Grim, Patrick, ed. Philosophy of Science and the Occult. State
University of New York Press, 1982.

Hale, William Kenderick. Rod of Iron. Hale Research Foundation,
1954. This is an incredible example of writing by a certified kook,
the most elaborate example of this genre I have ever seen. Each
page is hand-drawn, with text hand-lettered. It mixes numerology,
religion, and a thoroughly pathological view of the world. The
author thinks he is the reincarnation of Christ. I have only volume
1 of this (found at a used-book sale) and would love to see volume
2 some time, to complete my education in weirdness.

Hazen, Robert M. and James Trefil. Science Matters. Doubleday,
1991. From the cover: From plate tectonics to leptons to the first
living cell, now you can understand the simple science behind our
complex world.

Hitching, Francis. The Mysterious World, an atlas of the
unexplained. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978. Another
coffee-table book of Fortean phenomena, but this is more complete
and balanced than most, and includes a detailed bibliography.

Hitching, Francis. Earth Magic. William Morrow and Co., Inc.,
1977. From the dust jacket: "The astounding mystery of the greatest of all
lost civilizations." It's about Stonehenge.

Hopkins, Matthew. The Discovery of Witches. London, 1647. From
the title page: In Answer to severall Queries lately Delivered to
the Judges of Assize for the County of Norfolk. And now published
By Matthew Hopkins, Witch-finder for The Benefit of the whole
Kingdome.

Hendry, Alan. The UFO Handbook, a guide to investigating,
evaluating and reporting UFO sightings. Foreword by J. Allen
Hynek. Doubleday, 1979. Chapter 8 "The IFO Message" addresses
witness unreliability in IFO cases, and shows that we have no
reason to believe that UFO witnesses are any more reliable than
that. This is the one book on UFOs to read if you read no others.

Hubbard, L. Ron. Dianetics, the evolution of a science. Church
of Scientology, 1950. Science-fiction writer Hubbard turned his
talents to founding a religion: Scientology. The tenets of this
'religion' defy understanding by rational minds, and the tactics of
the church have become outright intimidation of critics, and of
ex-members.

Hunt, Inez and Wanetta W. Draper. Lightning in His Hand, the Life
Story of Nikola Tesla. Omni Publications, 1964.

Hutin, Serge. History of Astrology, science or superstition?
Gerard and Co., 1970.

Jastrow, Joseph. The Story of Human Error. Appleton-Century,
1936. This is a classic, and hard-to-find book of errors in
astronomy, geology, geography, physics, mathematics, chemistry,
zoology, physiology, neurophysiology, anthropology, psychology,
sociology, medicine and psychiatry. Jastrow was a psychologist.

Johnson, Crisfield. The One Great Force: the cause of gravitation,
planetary motion, heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemical
affinity, and other natural phenomena. Breed & Lent, 1868. An
ambitious attempt at a theory of everything, and unified field! The
Proposition on the title page says it all: "The One Great Force
of the Material Universe is the Self-Replication of Caloric, acting
on the Inertia of Ordinary Matter." Of course! Why didn't we think
of that?

Jones, Stacy V. Inventions Necessity is Not The Mother Of, Patents
Ridiculous and Sublime. New York Times Book Co., 1973

Kafton-Minkel, Walter. Subterranean Worlds: 100,000 years of
dragons, dwarfs, the dead, lost races & UFOs from inside the
earth. Loompanics Unlimited, 1989. Everything you wanted to know
about the history of hollow-earth hypotheses.

Keene, M. Lamar and Allen Spraggett. The Psychic Mafia. c. 1976
by Lamar Keene. Dell paperback, 1977. Keene spent many years as a
spiritualist medium. In this book he reveals the tricks of the
trade. Also available as electronic text.

Larue, Gerald A. Ancient Myth and Modern Men. Prentice-Hall,
1975. Relates present-day moral concerns to the flow of ideas from
ancient cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Lewinsohn, Richard. Science, Prophecy and Prediction. Bell,
1961.

Ley, Wiley. Another Look at Atlantis, and fifteen other essays.
Bell, 1969. {Q171.L57}

Ley, Wiley. Other books: For Your Information. Rockets, Missiles
and Men in Space. Watchers of the Sky. Engineer's Dreams. Exotic
Zoology. The Conquest of Space. The Exploration of mars. Beyond
the Solar System. Dawn of Zoology. Discovery of the Elements.
Missiles, Moonprobes and Megaparsecs. Ranger to the Moon. Mariner
to Mars. The Borders of Mathematics. On Earth and in the Sky.

Locke, Richard Adams. The Moon Hoax; or A Discovery That the Moon
Has A Vast Population of Human Beings. M. Doolady, 1859. Reprint
edition by Gregg Press, 1975. A pamphlet was issued under the title
Great Astronomical Discoveries Lately Made by Sir John Herschel,
L. L., D. F. R. S. &c. at the Cape of Good Hope. First published
in the New-York Sun, form the Supplement to the Edinburgh Journal
of Science.

McIntosh, Christopher. The Astrologers and their Creed, an
historical outline. Praeger, 1969.

Mackay, Charles. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and
the Madness of Crowds, London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.,
1892. Recent reprint editions are still available. This is another
`classic,' looking at the prototype examples of human delusion: the
south sea `bubble,' tulipmania, etc. {AZ999.M2}

Marks, David and Richard Kammann. The Psychology of the Psychic.
Prometheus, 1980.

Mitchell, Edgar D. Psychic Exploration, a challenge for science.
Edited by John White. Putnam's, 1974. Edgar Mitchell was the 6th
astronaut to walk on the moon. As this book shows, he has no other
credentials touching on science. This book is an example of how a
well-known public figure can, with the help of a professional
writer, cash in on fame in one field with a book in another.

Michell, John & Robert J. M. Rickard. Phenomena, A Book of
Wonders. Pantheon, 1977. A coffee-table book of Fortean phenomena,
with uncritical accounts and 119 black-white pictures. Illustration
sources are documented, but there's no documentation for the
factual information in the book.

Moore, Clara Bloomfield. Keely and His Discoveries. 1893.
University Books reprint, undated. John Ernst Worrell Keely claimed
he could make engines which could power a freight train across the
country on a thimblefull of water as fuel. He kept his company
going for 30 years without every paying a dividend to stockholders,
or producing a product. Clara Bloomfield Moore was one of his
financial supporters.

Neher, Andrew. The Psychology of Transcendence. Prentice-Hall,
1980. From the cover blurb: "A guide to understanding and
developing your potential for mental healing, visions, ecstasy,
out-of-body states, prophecy, and many other extraordinary
experiences."

Newton, David E. Science & Society. Holbrook Press, 1974.

Nolen, William A. Healing, A Doctor in Search of a Miracle,
Fawcett, 1974.

Norman, Eric. The Under-People, the startling discovery of a lost
world. Award Books, 1969. From the cover: "Who are they? Do they
really exist deep within the bowels of the earth? Can bey be
reached, reasoned with? Are they dangerous? Eric Norman has the
provocative answers. Amazing, documented facts about the bizarre
inhabitants of the center of the earth!"

Norman, Eric. This Hollow Earth. Lancer, 1972. From the cover:
"Eric Norman reveals astonishing discoveries about this hollow
earth. Are there underground worlds? Do Eden, Atlantis and other
lost glories still lie hidden beneath the surface of our planet?"

Ord-Hume, Arthur W. J. G. Perpetual Motion, the History of an
Obsession. George Allen and Unwin, 1977. The only general survey
of this subject now in print.

Pachter, Henry M. Magic Into Science, the Story of Paracelsus.
Henry Schuman, 1951.

Pauwels, Louis and Jacques Bergier. The Morning of the Magicians.
First published in France under the title Le Matin des Magiciens,
and copyright 1960 by Editions Gallimard. Published in England in
1963 under title: The Dawn of Magic. English translation
copyright 1963 by Anthony Gibbs & Phillips Ltd. Avon Books 1968.
This classic defense of the magical traditions is much quoted,
seldom read.

Pawlicki, T. B. How to Build a Flying Saucer, and other proposals
in speculative engineering. Prentice-Hall, 1981. Particularly
interesting are his speculations on megalithic engineering, and how
the pyramids were built, by quite ordinary (non-supernatural)
engineering.

Phin, John. The Seven Follies of Science, a popular account of the
most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have
been made to solve them. Van Nostrand, 1906. A classic, and rare,
book. The seven follies are: squaring the circle, duplication of
the cube, trisection of an angle, perpetual motion, alchemy,
fixation of mercury, and the elixir of life.

Poundstone, William. Big Secrets. Quill, 1983. The uncensored
truth about all sorts of stuff you are never supposed to know. The
formula for Coca-Cola...how playing cards are marked...how to beat
a lie detector...what your answers to the Rorschach test really
mean...things on American currency you never knew were there...the
eleven secret herbs and spices in Kentucky Fried Chicken...credit-
card mischief...and more. Stage magic secrets: Doug Henning's
Dancing Handkerchief in a Bottle, Harry Blackstone, Jr.'s Sawing
a Woman in Two, Uri Geller's Blindfold Drive, Doug Henning's
Vanishing Horse and Rider, The Amazing Kreskin's Social Security
Number Divination, and other secrets of these performers.

Rachleff, Owen S. The Secrets of Superstitions, how they help, how
they hurt. Doubleday, 1976.

Ransom, C. J. The Age of Velikovsky. Delta, 1976. From the cover:
"A guide to Worlds in Collision, Ages of Chaos, and other
essential writings of Velikovsky, providing a key to the theories
as well as the controversies they have provoked." See also Forrest.

Radner, Dasie and Michael Radner. Science and Unreason.
Wadsworth, 1982. An excellent short overview and textbook on the
application of reason to claims of the paranormal.

Randi, James. The Magic of Uri Geller, as Revealed by The Amazing
Randi, Ballantine, 1975. Randi, James. The Faith Healers.
Prometheus, 1986. An exposure of the trickery used by faith
healers, and a particular look at A. A. Allen, Leroy Jenkins, Peter
Popoff, and Oral Roberts.

Rimmer, Harry. The Harmony of Science and Scripture. The "Lost
Day" legend is revived in this book, and this seems to be the
source of the `modern' version. Rimmer credits "Sir Edwin Ball, the
great British astronomer, who found that twenty-four hours had been
lost out of solar time." Rimmer's version, embellished (updated)
with a NASA and computer- calculation connection added, appeared
in Fate, June 1973, p. 60, in a `filler item' by Harry L. Miller.
This version introduces Harold Hill, who had been telling this story
at his speaking engagements. I have yet to track down the original
reference of `Astronomer Edwin Ball (who was obviously not an
astronomer whose fame has survived to this century), or to just
when Harold Hill hatched his version, though I have communicated
with Hill, he is evasive. A skeptical account may be found in
Christian Herald, Nov 1972, p. 53, in an article by Dr. Wilson,
its editor. An indignant response from Harold E. Hill appears in
the January 1973 issue. A brief note, with no useful data, also
appears in the Sept-Oct 1970 issue of The American Rationalist,
p. 9.

Roberts, Alexander. A Treatise of Witchcraft. London, 1616. From
the title page: Wherein sundry propositions are laid downe,
plainely discovering the wickedness of that damnable Art, with
diverse other speciall points annexed, not impertinent to the same,
such as ought diligently of every Christian to be considered. With
a true narration of the Witchcrafts which Mary Smith, wife of Henry
Smith Glover, did practise: Of her contract vocally made between
the Devil and her, in solemne termes, by whose means the hurt by
her owne confession, and also from the publique Records of the
Examination if diverse upon their oathes: And lastly, of her death
and execution, for the same; which was on the twelfth day of
Januarie last past. von Reichenbach, Baron Karl. The Mysterious
Odic Force. 1844. Reprinted by Samuel Weiser, The Aquarian Press,
1977.

Rokeach, Milton. The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, a Psychological
Study. c. 1964 by Milton Rokeach. Columbia University Press, 1981.
A classic study, not likely to ever be repeated. Rokeach found that
Michigan's Ypsilanti State Hospital (a mental hospital) had three
patients claiming to be Jesus Christ. He got them together for
group therapy. {RC465.R63}

"Scientific Astrology", double issue of Zetetic Scholar, Nos. 3
& R, 1979. The Zetetic Scholar was published from to 1983 by
Marcello Truzzi, a sociologist from Eastern Michigan University.
Truzzi sought a fruitful dialogue between skeptics and believers
on subjects of fringe science. Copies of this journal are scarce
(it had at best only a few hundred subscribers) and most of this
material has not been reprinted.

Seiss, Joseph A. (1823-1904) The Great Pyramid. Steiner reprint,
1973. A classic by a `pyramidiot'.

Seligman, Kurt. The Mirror of Magic. Pantheon Books, 1948.
This classic account of the history of magic and mysticism has been
reprinted under other titles.

Shadowitz, Albert and Peter Walsh. The Dark Side of Knowledge.
Addison-Wesley, 1976.

Story, Ronald. The Space-Gods Revealed, a close look at the
theories of Erich von Däniken. Harper and Row, 1976. A debunking
of von Däniken's hypotheses of alien visitations to earth in
ancient historical times.

Story, Ronald D. Sightings, UFOs and the Limits of Science.
Quill, 1982. From the cover: "An Expert Looks at the 10 Most
Baffling Cases on Record."

Taylor, John. Super Minds, a scientist looks at the paranormal.
Warner Books, 1975. This is a classic example of a scientist (physicist
John Taylor) being deluded by clever tricksters as well as self-deluded.

Thomas, Keith. Religion & The Decline of Magic. Scribner's, 1971.
Tompkins, Peter. Secrets of the Great Pyramid. Harper & Row,
1971. Tompkins has put together an encyclopedia of historical facts
lavishly illustrated with monochrome pictures relating to
fantastic speculation about the building and the purpose of the
Great Pyramid of Cheops. Hardly ever does a note of disbelief creep
into his presentation, no matter how fantastic the speculations he
reports. {DT63.T56 1971}

Tompkins, Peter. The Secret Life of Plants. This book
demonstrates that Tompkins, for all his scholarly erudition, is
gullible for just about any strange ideas.
Avon, 1973. {QK50.T65 1973}

Tompkins, Peter. The Magic of Obelisks. Harper & Row, 1981. A
credulous look at ancient monuments. A fitting companion to
Tompkins' Secrets of the Great Pyramid, and Mysteries of the
Mexican Pyramids. Lavishly illustrated in monochrome.

Toth, Max and Greg Nielsen. Pyramid Power. Warner, 1974.

Toth, Max. Pyramid Prophecies. Warner, 1979.

Totten, C. A. L. Joshua's Long Day And the Dial of Ahaz. Rand,
1890. Reprint edition 1968 by Destiny Publishers, Merrimac,
Massachusetts 01860. It is bound together with a reprint of Rand's
When the Earth Turned Over. This is one source of the "Lost Day"
urban legend which continues to pop up in new incarnations in
newspapers and magazines today. Totten's book is a good example of
how one can take a few tidbits of history, misapply a few
unapplicable facts, manufacture evidence for a pre-conceived
belief, and demonstrate a misunderstanding of both science and
religion to fabricate a modern legend.

Velikovsky, Immanuel. Worlds in Collision. Doubleday, 1950.

Velikovsky, Immanuel. Earth in Upheaval. 1955.

Velikovsky, Immanuel. Ages in Chaos. ?

Velikovsky, Immanuel. Oedipus and Akhnaton, myth and history. c.
1960 by Immanuel Velikovsky.

Vizas, C. B. Cosmic Cyclones, a new, revolutionary picture of the
universe. Greenwich Book Publishers, 1956. A rather typical
attempt to rewrite all of physics by someone unequal to the task.

Wallace, Irving. The Fabulous Showman, the Life and Times of P.
T. Barnum. Knopf, 1959.

Walsh, John. The Shroud. c. 1963 by John Walsh. This is just one
of many incredibly credulous books about the Shroud of Turin, a
large cloth bearing a life-size image resembling artistic
depictions of Christ, and which many people would like to believe
is the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. Read Joe Nickell's book
Inquest on the Shroud of Turn as an antidote to this wishful
thinking.

Wallechinsky, David. The Book of Predictions. Morrow, 1981. 20th
Century Forecasts. {CB161.W25}

Wheatley, Dennis. The Devil and All His Works. c. 1971 by Dennis
Wheatley. A devilishly entertaining and literate look at man's view
of the devil throughout history, with side trips to other occult
weirdness. Many illustrations, some in color. The perfect
coffee-table book to astound and perplex your friends. {BF1411.W45
1971}

White, John. Pole Shift. Berkley, 1982. From the cover:
Scientific predictions and prophecies of the ultimate natural
disaster. "Too many coincidences and warning signs are being
discovered by scientists for us to ignore White's important work."
Dr. Jeffrey Goodman, Author of We are the Earthquake
Generation.

Young, James Harvey. The Medical Messiahs, a social history of
health quackery in twentieth-century America. Princeton University
Press, 1967.

Zölner, Johann Carl Friedrich. Transcendental Physics, An Account
of Experimental Investigations from the Scientific Treatises of
Johann Carl Friederich Zölner. Boston, Colby & Rich, 1888. This
is a classic of self- delusion and credulity, written by an
astrophysicist who fancied himself competent to study mediums,
including Henry Slade, and their physical manifestations. Zölner
was fascinated with mathematician's forays into four dimensional
geometry, and higher dimensional geometries, and he thought that
spirit mediums had the ability to slip into the fourth dimension
and return.

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